7 things in tech you need to know this week
From Netflix to fake news, these are the tech stories to read this week
Words: Henry St Leger
The tech world runs at a preposterously fast pace, in a non-stop surge of new updates and releases. In an effort to help you keep up, we’ve sifted through the stories to find the 7 most essential pieces of tech news this week.
Google’s next Pixel smartphone, expected to be released later this year, looks set to imitate the curved screen design popularised by Samsung’s Galaxy Edge (above). The technology giant was found to have invested $880m into LG Display Company, apparently in order to have direct access to their flexible OLED screen technology.
Fans were crying foul this week after the popular streaming service dropped star-ratings for its online shows and films, bringing in a thumbs-up, thumbs-down system in the style of Youtube. Viewers complain they can no longer distinguish between high-view and high-quality content.
Hermes’ six-wheeled bots are the next big thing for automated delivery, with ‘courteous’ spatial programming for navigating those busy London streets. Designed by Starship, the bots can transport parcels of up to 10kg and aren’t hindered by restrictive airspaces, meaning they could offer more accessible delivery routes than Amazon drones.
In what looks like a welcome solution to the countless cracked screens and chipped handsets out there, Apple’s daring new hardware design sees small shock-absorbers spring out of the smartphone’s corners when dropped on hard surfaces – and could even help the handset float in water.
In a tentative step towards addressing the plethora of unreliable news sources online, Google has now rolled out the news verification feature across its search engine, providing a summary of fact-checked statements alongside search results.
In a major blow to naysayers of renewable technologies, Scotland’s fleet of onshore wind turbines generated 1.2m megawatt hours of electricity last month, meeting the energy needs of 136% of Scottish homes.
While we debate the ethics of artificial consciousness, highly advanced machines are learning to raise, hold, and bluff with the best of them. The American-made AI, ‘Lengpudashi’, took on a team of six high-ranking professionals and won a sizeable $290,000 prize.
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